The present invention relates to a system for controlling the trajectory or direction of flow of a material from an elongated pipe and more particularly to an apparatus for adjusting the orientation of the free or discharge end of a feed pipe through selective bending of the pipe axis along its length.
In many industrial applications elongated structural members such as pipes, must be precisely positioned and supported, especially when they are used as flow pipes to conduct and feed various fluent materials. Such pipes are often disposed in unusual or hostile environments so that problems are presented in adjusting or reorienting the end of the pipe to alter the direction of flow. One specific application of this type is found in the feeding of coal to a rotary kiln for the direct reduction of iron ore and ores containing iron, wherein the feed end of the pipe extends into the discharge end of the kiln and blows coal through a desired trajectory into a selected region of the kiln bed. Accordingly, the orientation of the feed end of the pipe must be carefully adjusted to ensure that the coal lands in the desired region of the bed, but the environment poses severe demands on any adjustment mechanism which might be used at this location.
An object of the present invention is to provide a system and apparatus for adjusting the orientation of the feed ends of such pipes or related structural members in environments rendering adjustment control difficult, and which apparatus is simply constructed and readily operable by an unskilled worker without the need for special training or tools.
The invention is particularly intended for use in connection with the feeding of coal to a rotary kiln for performing a direct reduction process of the type such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,138 to Hockin.